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Mighty Joe Workbook
Mighty Joe Workbook
Facilitator Notes
This is an anxiety workbook for children age 5-11. The story about
Mighty Moe relates directly to the material in the workbook, and can
be used as a reference to enhance the child’s understanding of the
content. The language and concepts in this manual are concrete and
have been simplified to facilitate the child’s comprehension.
This book may only be reproduced with written permission from the
author.
Contact Information:
laceylinn@hotmail.com
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Table of Contents
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Moe was a kid just like any other.
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Moe seemed to be a kid just like any other, but he didn’t feel
that way. He had something that made him special…
something that made him different.
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Having Mighty Powers meant that everything got really BIG
in Moe’s mind. His thoughts and feelings got so big they
were often out of his control.
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Not only did Moe get mighty BIG feelings, but he was also
scared of many, many things!
Moe was scared of being away from his family, dark rooms,
needles, spiders, sharks, deep water, and his sister’s
koodies, just to name a few.
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No matter how hard he tried, Moe couldn’t get rid of his
mighty big feelings. Moe’s family felt frustrated because
they didn’t understand why he was scared of so many
things. They said, “Moe, why do you worry so much?”
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“Worry is a feeling. Worries can be small or they can grow
to be very very BIG. Everyone gets small worries
sometimes, and everyone gets BIG worries as well.
But some people get BIG worries A LOT. If you get a lot of
BIG worries, then it can be hard to do things like school
work, meeting new people, or playing with friends.”
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One day, Moe was outside playing with his friend, Sam. It
was getting late in the afternoon and Sam was tired of
playing outside. Sam invited Moe to come over to his house
to play.
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Moe didn’t know what to say. He liked Sam and wanted to
play with him more but he didn’t want to go to Sam’s house.
Moe was happy playing in his own yard because his mom
was just inside the house and he could see her through the
window. Moe felt safe when he could see his mom.
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Moe knew if he went to Sam’s house he wouldn’t be able to
see his mom through the window and this made him feel
scared.
Moe could feel his Mighty Powers kick in! His small feeling
started to get bigger and BIGGER. His tummy was doing
funny things and his skin was getting hot and tingly all over.
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Moe started to back away from Sam…
Moe turned and ran inside his house. Sam called to Moe and
asked him to come back, but Moe was already gone.
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Moe felt horrible! He wanted to play with Sam and was mad
that he couldn’t. He was too scared to tell Sam the truth
because he was afraid Sam would make fun of him. Moe’s
Mighty Powers had taken control again!
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A few days later, Moe was at school and his teacher asked
him to read in front of the class. Moe hated reading in front
of the class. He thought he was a bad reader and that all
the kids would laugh at him if he made a mistake.
Moe was feeling very very scared inside. He could feel his
Mighty Powers at work and his scared feeling was getting
bigger and bigger and BIGGER.
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Moe’s teacher handed him the book.
Moe could feel his tummy doing funny things and his knees
were wobbly. His heart was beating so fast and so hard he
could hear it thumping in his ears. He was certain that
everyone in the room could hear his heartbeat thumping and
see his wobbly knees wobbling.
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Moe didn’t want anyone to know he was feeling scared. Moe
tried to calm down but his Mighty Powers were taking
control and his scared feeling was getting bigger and bigger
and BIGGER!
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All the kids were staring at Moe, waiting for him to read. He
felt sick to his stomach. Scared, and not knowing what else
to do, Moe yelled:
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As Moe ran down the hall he could hear all the kids laughing
at him. He could also hear his teacher calling him to come
back, but Moe didn’t care. He just wanted to hide his
feelings from everyone, again.
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Moe ran… and ran… and ran.
Moe ran so fast and so hard he could feel his leg muscles
burning.
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Moe’s mom was at home when he got there. She was
surprised to see him home from school so early. Mom’s
mom said:
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Moe didn’t know what to do. Moe had Mighty BIG feelings
but he also had a Mighty BIG problem: he couldn’t keep
letting his Mighty Powers take control all the time! Moe
knew he had to solve this problem… but how?
Moe could feel his tummy doing funny things again and
there was his heartbeat thumping in his ears… boom,
boom… boom, boom… boom, boom…
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Moe couldn’t keep it all inside anymore. He burst into tears!
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Moe’s mom knew she had to help him. Moe’s Mighty Powers
were out of control! Moe’s feelings were getting too BIG and
this was making it hard for him to do things. Moe’s feelings
were so BIG and out of control that he couldn’t even do
school work or have fun with his friends!
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Moe’s mom took him to see a counsellor. Moe and his
counsellor talked about a lot of things like feelings, people,
school work, and even worries. The counsellor gave Moe a
book called:
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Moe worked very hard and he learnt a lot of things from his
book.
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Moe learned how to take control of his Mighty Powers
instead of them controlling him. This made Moe feel Mighty
happy.
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Moe felt good about his Mighty Powers because learning
about them made him feel strong and brave. He felt proud
to be Mighty Moe.
Now, Moe still got Mighty BIG feelings sometimes but he felt
confident because he had learnt what to do to stay in control
of his Mighty Powers.
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But of all the things Moe learnt, the MOST IMPORTANT was…
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Print your name here
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Remember the story about Moe and his Mighty Powers?
Moe’s feelings got very BIG and it was hard for him to do things.
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What BIG Feelings DO
BIG feelings stopped Moe from going to his friend’s house to play.
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BIG feelings can stop you from having fun.
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BIG feelings can make it hard to talk to people, hard to play,
and even hard to smile!
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What BIG Feelings SAY
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It can be very hard to have BIG feelings inside!
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Remember what worry means?
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What is a worry?
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Think of a time when you had BIG feelings.
What happened?
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The Amazing Body-Mind-Feeling Chain
What you DO, how you THINK, and how you FEEL, are all
connected.
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What happens to you when you have BIG feelings?
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To make BIG feelings smaller, you will need
Body Tools, Thinking Tools, and Feeling Tools.
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The thing about feelings is…
grow to be very
BIG!
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Feelings sure can be confusing!
Knowing how you feel can help you figure out what to do about it.
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Body Cues
Your body gives you clues to help you figure out HOW you
feel. These are called Body Cues.
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Fill out the “Know Your Feelings” Chart below with your own
body cues for each feeling.
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How do feelings start?
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Think about things that you SEE, HEAR, or THINK that give
you BIG feelings. Fill in this chart with pictures or words:
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Think about something that HAPPENED that gave you BIG
feelings.
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Knowing HOW you feel and WHY you feel that way is hard
work. This takes a lot of practice, even for adults.
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Who can you talk to about your BIG feelings?
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Body Tool #1: Healthy Choices
Eating health food and staying active will help keep your
body healthy and feeling good.
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What FUN activities can you do to keep your body healthy?
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What healthy foods do you like to eat?
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Take the Healthy Body Challenge!
Follow the star chart on the next page for one week.
Every time you eat healthy food, give yourself one star.
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The Healthy Body Challenge Star Chart
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Body Tool #2: Relax
BIG feelings can make your body feel tight and sore. This
body tool can help your body feel better.
Try this:
Notice how warm and relaxed your muscles feel? You can
even try to do this exercise while sitting at your school desk
if you need to, or any other places you go.
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Thinking Tool #1: Positive Thoughts
When you have BIG feelings, your mind thinks BIG negative
thoughts and this can make you feel worse!
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Write or draw about your own negative thoughts that you
have had. Write down a positive thought you can say to
yourself instead.
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Thinking Tool #2: Put it on Paper
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Feeling Tool #1: Calm Down Plan
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No matter what happens when you have BIG feelings, it’s
important to have a plan to help yourself Stay Safe, Calm
Down and Feel Better.
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Make your own Calm Down Plan
On the next two pages you will find many different pictures.
You can cut out these pictures to make a calm down plan or
you can draw your own!
Have fun!
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Feeling Tool #2: Special Plan
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Write or draw about a time when you often have BIG
feelings.
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When you KNOW BIG feelings are coming, it’s a good idea to
have a Special Plan. A Special Plan will help you manage
your BIG feelings so you can stay in control.
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Here is another example of a Special Plan for a different
situation:
Now, make your own Special Plan for school, home, or for
any other place you often get BIG feelings. If you need
help, ask and adult who knows you best.
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Using your Tools to put it all together…
0=smallest feelings
10=BIGGEST feelings
Step 4: On the other side of the bar, write down what you
could do to help yourself feel better. Think of
what tools you can use when the feeling is in the
GREEN ZONE, the YELLOW ZONE, and the RED
ZONE.
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Look at the chart you filled out on the previous page. Is it
easier to use your Tools when your feelings are small or
BIG? Why?
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When Moe had BIG feelings, he also ended up having BIG
problems. Moe tried to solve his problems a few different
ways.
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This book has shown you many Tools you can use to help
manage BIG feelings.
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Sometimes, even though you try your best, things might not
go as well as you had hoped. That’s OK: if things don’t go
well, talk to an adult about what happened. Try to think
about these questions:
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Good job!
And remember…
Just like Moe, you too are a kid, just like ANY OTHER!
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